As Bangladesh’s largest refugee settlement’s food supply is set to drastically reduce next month, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has visited Rohingya refugees there, putting a threat to already dire living conditions.
After the UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced potential cuts to emergency food supplies following the suspension of USAID operations, Guterres’ visit to Cox’s Bazar on Friday is viewed as crucial.
Due to a lack of funding, the WFP may be forced to reduce Rohingya food vouchers from $12.50 to just $6 per month starting in April, causing fears of rising hunger in the overcrowded camps.
Under President Donald Trump, Washington’s international aid funding has been reduced by $4.4 billion from its $ 9.7 billion budget to date. The US has historically been the top donor of aid to Rohingya refugees.
According to UNICEF, the camps’ children are experiencing the worst cases of malnutrition since 2017, with the rate of admissions for severe malnutrition treatment increasing by 27 percent in February from the same month last year.
Simply put, “going to starve.”
“What we currently have is not enough,” he said. We will simply starve if that is cut in half, according to Myanmar refugee Mohammed Sabir, who has been living in a Cox’s Bazar camp since 2017.
We are not permitted to work here, Sabir, the father of five children, said. When I consider my children, I feel helpless. What will I provide for them?”
After widespread protests that removed former prime minister Sheikh Hasina from power in August of last year, Bangladesh’s interim government hopes that Guterres’ visit will help raise awareness of the crisis and mobilize resources for citizens and refugees alike.
More than 1 million Rohingya, who escaped violent purges in neighboring Myanmar, were moved to camps in the southern Cox’s Bazar district, where they have few opportunities for employment or education.
Source: Aljazeera
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